Tee markers are commonly used in the game of golf to define the boundaries of the teeing ground. The teeing ground or tee box is the starting place for the hole to be played. It is a rectangular area two club-lengths in depth, the front and the sides of which are defined by the outside limits of two tee-markers. Tee markers, indicating the furthest-forward allowable line to place the ball when teeing off, are considered a fixed part of the course during a player's tee shot and may not be moved for any reason during play. Most courses have at least three sets of tee markers, some may have six or more, each a different color and denoting different yardages.
Tee markers must be durable and are therefore typically made from a heavy material, such as granite or other stone. A stone tee marker can weigh 10 pounds or more. Various shaped and sized tee markers are used.
The tee markers along with the “hole” and “pin” are typically moved every day under the direction of a professional greenskeeper who maintains a golf course or country club's grounds.
A detailed knowledge of agronomy, plant pathology, entomology, chemistry, and soil science is a necessity that sets greenskeepers apart from the regular grounds crew, and requires a college degree in agricultural or environmental sciences at higher end golf clubs. Responsibilities also include tracking and removing gophers, as depicted in the movie Caddyshack.
On a standard 18-hole golf course having 6 sets of tee markers per hole, the grounds crew, for example, may have to move 216 markers every day or 2160 pounds of material moved per day per course. These markers are typically moved by a manual operation in which an individual member of the grounds crew must constantly bend, squat, and lift to carry the markers from location to location. Such individuals may experience fatigue, back or leg strains, crushed toes or other disabling injury. Further, the process of manually moving 216 markers every day, 1512 moves per week or, 78,624 moves per year on one course alone can be tedious and time consuming. Additional movement of tee markers is required for mowing or fertilizing the tee box, thus increasing the chance of injury during manual movement of tee markers.
Some tee marker lifters, are designed for use with a tractor and do not include a handle with a grasping mechanism at the base. Further, some brick or block lifters are not adapted for lifting a golf tee marker.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,855 to Jamieson et al discloses a golf tee holder and marker accessory to be placed at the teeing area for holding broken tees and for indicating a golfer's position relative to a distant flag placed at a green on a golf course. The accessory includes a block member having rectangular sides and a substantially square cross section. A cone shaped aperture extends along the longitudinal axis of the block member. A pair of ground spikes is attached to the bottom end of the block member for easy removal and attachment of the block member to the ground surface. Three sides of the block member are provided with indicia which, when the block is placed at a predetermined position, will indicate to a golfer the relative position of a distant flag to the green, i.e. if the flag is in front, at the rear, or in the middle of the green. The marker must be manually lifted and placed between one position and another position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,204 to Lenz discloses a golf tee marker moving system. A golf tee marker moving assembly is positioned on the front of a mower with a universal mount. The moving assembly includes a pivoting lift arm and a golf tee marker capture assembly located at the free end of the pivoting lift arm. The pivoting arm is coupled to a motor mounted on the universal mount and is controlled by a manual switch to raise or lower the pivoting arm. The motor is coupled to the mower battery. A tee marker with a base and spherical top, separated from the base with a neck, is adapted to be captured by the golf tee marker capture assembly. Once captured, the tee marker is raised out of the path of the mower by pivoting the arm upward. The mower operator can then remove the tee marker from the golf tee marker capture assembly, mow the tee area and then replace the tee marker.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,608 to Eister discloses a block lift for lifting keystone type blocks. The block lift includes a plate having a top surface, a bottom surface and a peripheral edge extending between the top and bottom surfaces. An elongated rod has a first end and a second end. The first end is integrally coupled to the top surface of the plate and generally centered in the top surface. The rod extends upwardly from the plate. A handle is attached to the second end of the rod. The plate is positioned through an aperture in a block and turned such that the plate is moved under a bottom surface of the block. The block may then be lifted.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,588,274 to Worthington discloses a tool for lifting and carrying a building block. The tool includes a body having a first end adapted to engage an inner building block wall. A nose extends from an upper portion of the first end and is adapted to engage an upper surface of the building block. First and second elongated legs extend away from the first end in angular relation to one another. A foot is pivotally connected to a free end of the second leg, and has a generally parallel pad portion configured to engage an opposite inner wall of the building block. Upon exerting a lifting force on a handle portion of the first leg, the first end of the body and the foot pad engage and exert opposing forces to opposite inner walls of the building block cell, enabling the building block to be lifted by the tool.
U.S. Pub. No. 20090023521 by MacDougall discloses golf tee markers which are easily picked-up, placed into the ground and stacked. The tee marker system includes a pickup and placement cylinder, a transport and storage tube, a transport and storage cabinet, storage tubes, and a mowing tractor attachment for use, pickup, and placement of the tee markers.
Known devices are generally used with a mower or tractor or are not adapted to manually lift a golf tee marker thereby increasing the risk of injury to people who move markers.
The present invention solves these difficult problems in a novel manner. The device includes a handle with an adjustable grasping mechanism at the base. The device can be used to lift and re-position a golf tee marker, which prevents a user from having to bend over to pick the marker up, thus significantly reducing risk of injury to the grounds crew and increasing the efficiency of tee placement and replacement operations.